Tag Archives: quilting

The long weekend

Posted on by

I didn’t get any sewing done on my quilts over the holiday break but I do have some pictures of my work-in-progress Princess quilt:

It’s been a long time since I touched this quilt and it’s imperative that I hand bind it before Christmas when I’m giving it as a gift.

What I did manage to do was do a DEEP CLEAN of my closet.

I went through all my clothes and shoes and got rid of nearly 10 bags of clothing and 40 pairs of shoes.

In the mix were 5 pairs of boots, about a dozen coats and jackets, and a shit ton of dresses.

Some I was sad to let go.

I held on to the red silk dress I wore to my law school reception.

I let go of my velvet dress from my Senior Year Ball.

It was a nice walk down memory lane, seeing all the clothes in my closet that I’d nearly forgotten I had.

But the best part of all?

Actually being able to close my closet doors.

Priceless.

Boring crafty quilting life

Posted on by

I’ve begun working on a new quilt which is a nice way of saying I sat down and bought fabric for the quilt.

Personally, I wanted to see if the fabrics I selected would look good together so through photoshop magic I swapped out the blue and green colors in the original quilt for the teal and lavender fabrics I selected.

Not too shabby.

Then I found 108” wide fabric for the backing with a BEAUTIFUL watercolor floral pattern in blues and purples and I WAS SOLD.

The fabric is PERFECT for the backing of the quilt and requires no sewing on my part since it’s 108” wide.

It also ties in all the colors quite nicely and will make a good contrast against the pieced side of the quilt.

Honestly, I’m so excited about working on this quilt.

My least favorite part is cutting the fabric, and I can already tell that’s going to take the LONGEST time with this quilt.

For Barbara’s quilt, it took me 6 hours to cut all the fabric.

This time, I’m guessing it’ll be about 9 hours.

Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and find a short cut.

But you know I’m in a domestic mood when talking about “getting lucky” means the quilt I’m working on will take only 9 hours to cut.

This is my boring crafty quilting life.

Queen

Posted on by

It’s my favorite time of year – the build-up from Halloween, and my birthday to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Needless to say I do not suffer from season affective disorder, though I know a few people who do and it’s a terrible thing to have happen.

I love the holidays.

I EVEN love holiday music.

Yes, I’m one of THOSE people.

I think my love of the holidays comes from my mother.

Growing up, we’d decorate, cook, and listen to Christmas music during the holiday season.

I remember Mom would put on Christmas music and we’d bake cookies and pies until the dining room table was FILLED WITH TREATS!

This year I’m doing what I did last year and I’m QUILTING for the holidays.

My work shuts down for two weeks during the holidays and it’s the PERFECT time to start a quilting project.

This time, I’m looking at two quilt patterns:

The trick is that I really should make the Spruced Goose quilt because I have all the supplies to make it.

However, it’s a gift for a friend and the Star Gazing quilt is actually a more appropriate color scheme for her.

So I’m stuck.

Do I make the quilt that’s better for her or the one I’ve got all the supplies for?

Oh, the dilemma.

Turns out, I may just try to make both and decide what to do with them later.

Also, I have THIS quilt top which needs to be finalized and I haven’t created the backing for it yet so maybe I’ll finish THREE QUILTS this holiday season.

What can I say?

I am a quilt making QUEEN!

Old Lady

Posted on by

I have an interesting hobby for a 45 year old woman.

I quilt.

I’ve been quilting for 20 years and because of this, my Instagram feed show a lot of work in progress quilts and finished quilts.

My Instagram is linked to my Tinder account so all the men I match with can see my handiwork.

Some of my quilts turned out quite beautiful, like this one I made for Barbara over Christmas break last year and one I made for family friends who lost their son with a pattern called
Storm at Sea:

If you were to ask me what kind of art do I make, I’d tell you I’m into textile arts.

I LOVE my quilts and every single one I’ve made has been donated to friends or family, with a lot of love.

It takes time and patience and a little bit of serendipity to turn fabric by the yard into a pieced quilt.

I proud of the work I do.

So you can imagine my surprise when someone on Tinder MADE FUN of my quilting.

“Wouldn’t know you’re 45 except for the quilting,” he texted me.

I defended myself, saying that I make modern quilts, not grandma quilts.

He replied by saying, “All quilts are grandma quilts.”

So, I present to you my impression of a grandma quilt and my impression of a modern quilt and you tell me if you can’t tell the difference:

Needless to say, homeboy didn’t get too far in seducing me.

Women don’t take kindly to being aged beyond their years and just because I make quilts DOES NOT make me a grandma.

Hmph!

More QUILTS!

Posted on by

Oh dear.

I’ve gone a little bonkers and bought myself eleven quilt patterns.

No worries, they were about $3 each, so I didn’t break the bank.

They were instant downloads though so I immediately got to look at the directions and plan out my quilts.

First things first, even though Good Fortune won the poll for my upcoming quilt, I’ve decided to go with Birdpond.

Why?

Because there’s not a smidge of pink in Good Fortune and I’m making this quilt for Barbara who LOVES pink.

Also, I think the pattern just makes more sense with the swatches from Birdpond.

And once I see something I can’t unsee it.

Sure, I could make the quilt with Good Fortune but I’d forever be lamenting that there was no pink in it.

I find it rather appropriate that the fabric collection is titled “Birdpond” and the main fabric I am using has hummingbirds on it.

Serendipity!

So it’s settled.

Barbara’s quilt will be made with Birdpond.

Don’t fret about Good Fortune, though.

Ironically, I already have the fabric and I intend to make this zig zag quilt from them:

Also?

I fell in love with another quilt, one made with batik fabrics the color of the rainbow.

I love it so much I needed to get the pattern.

All the fabric costs $75 on Amazon, so it’s a relatively inexpensive quilt as far as ingredients go.

I’ve decided if The Swede and his daughter don’t come to California this holiday break, I will spend my time quilting and binge watching old episodes of NCIS.

Pajamas all day.

Here’s hoping I don’t actually get a single stitch completed on my quilting projects.

I’d rather be with my Swedes.

 

Design input needed

Posted on by

Help me make a quilt.

I’m working on a new quilt after taking a year off from quilting and I’m a bit rusty.

Can you help me by voting for your favorite combination?

I can pair my floral fabric with Tilda’s Birdpond fabrics:

Or I can pair it with Kate Spain’s Good Fortune:

Which one do you prefer?

Tilda’s Birdpond or Kate Spain’s Good Fortune?

Help a gal out here. . .

Luck

Posted on by

I am working on a new quilt.

It’s been a while since I broke out my rotary cutter, cutting board and sewing machine and made something beautiful.

This quilt is called “Bed of Roses.”

It’s absolutely gorgeous, and relatively simple to make.

As is usually the case, the free pattern I have makes a lap quilt and I want to make a QUEEN size quilt.

Usually, I don’t follow patterns.

I make up my own.

Like this wonderful airplane quilt I made for my nephew.

I actually sold the design to a quilt shop in exchange for free long arm quilting.

Although I can do the calculations to size the quilt up, I broke down and actually bought the full size pattern so that I could save myself the trouble of ALL THOSE CALCULATIONS.

Now, the fun part begins – FABRIC SELECTION!

I need 30 fat quarters to create the quilt and it’s gonna be a lot of fun picking out the colors I want.

The trick to making I good quilt, in my opinion, is finding a good cornerstone fabric to work with.

The colors and patterns in that fabric lay the foundation for the rest of the quilt.

I’ve selected these fabrics:

Lots of colors to work with.

Lots of patterns to work with.

And, of course, a simply gorgeous design.

Wish me luck!

I’m a quilter

Posted on by

I am a quilter.

I have no idea WHERE the desire to quilt comes from.

I’m not a particularly PATIENT person.

I don’t think of myself as terribly ARTISTIC.

And yet, I quilt.

I’ve made upwards of 30 – 40 quilts so far.

I’ve given all of them away as gifts to friends, families, and ex-boyfriends.

The things I do when I’m in love.

Oy!

Anyway, as it turns out, quilting may be in my DNA.

The Norwegians have a long tradition of quilting.

And I discovered that the lodge I’m trying to join has a history of quilting:

I’m hoping, should they ever respond to my request to join, that this will work in my favor.

I’m a quilter AND a little bit Norwegian.

Check out some of my quilts (sorry for the bad lighting):

Creativity

Posted on by

I am an event planner.

But BEFORE I was an event planner, in an alternate life, I was a geneticist.

I did genetic research for various companies around the Bay Area.

It was a little bit of magic to see someone’s DNA appear in solution when I was extracting DNA from blood samples.

I’ll never forget how beautiful and delicate those thin tendrils of life were.

Needless to say, my degree is in Biology.

I spent a lot of time in chem lab and microbiology lab.

In order to balance out all the science (AND STAY SANE) I took a lot of art classes: Costuming, Art History, Music, Piano, etc.

The only reason this has any relevance whatsoever is that I struggle in the Burning Man community to release my creative side.

It’s much easier for me to buy something already made than it is to make it.

Case in point: I just bought this PixelBoa for the burn.

I love it and think it’ll be a great night time accessory.

I could’ve tried to work out how to make one.

After all, Tejas is an engineer and could help me navigate the circuits that control the lights.

I could’ve. But I didn’t.

Of course, the notable exceptions to this are my hats.

I’ve made a dozen hats.

And something like forty quilts.

So it’s not like my artistic background is COMPLETELY lost on me.

But I do wonder when I’m going to work up the courage to tackle some big artistic project for Burning Man.

Because when all is said and done, I am VERY CREATIVE. . . for a geneticist!